


Don't Be A Stranger

by beccabecky



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders Has Panic Attacks, Anxious Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders Are Siblings, Flirting, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, also remus is the older brother bECAUSE I S A I D S O, logan voice: virgil is experiencing cognitive distortions, remus is a middle school bio teacher because i said so, remus is also genderfluid because I SAID SO, remus is helping him through it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:07:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24074185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beccabecky/pseuds/beccabecky
Summary: "I had a panic attack on the fire escape, you're my neighbor on the floor above me and you were also on the fire escape. You came down to help me and I've seen you around before but I've never seen you so up close and you're really cute and now I'm panicking for a whole other reason." AU
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders
Comments: 6
Kudos: 186





	Don't Be A Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> .................are you surprised in the slightest

Looking out on his rattly fire escape, Virgil took a breath of the smoggy air of New York City.

He'd finally done it. He got out of his shitty home, with a graceful flip of the bird to his parents, and moved away. He's starting his job next week, and his first college class in about a month. He'd moved out of his parents' house the moment he had enough money to live in the Big Apple. 

He didn’t even go to college in his parents’ hometown because he wanted to have a completely fresh start. His parents annoyed the shit out of him for it, for not going to college, not getting good grades, his anxiety, his appearance, anything that they didn’t like about him. Which was mostly _everything_ about him, figures. He just bid his time, however, staying at his parents’ house so then he didn’t have to pay rent and just staying out of their way. He knew that they wouldn’t kick him out because then they’d be the talk of the town for months on end. So, he knew he was safe from _that._

He'd been saving up for this for so long, it's almost hard to believe he's here right now. 22, alone, on his own, with no one to fall back on, without any friends to help him if something goes wrong. He could die and no one would care, he could get murdered, or worse, _mugged_. It was the city, anything could happen. He could lose his bank account, his parents could find his address and harass him.

Virgil started taking in quick breaths, hyperventilating. He could get assaulted, get _poisoned_. He tightly gripped the ledge of the fire escape, feeling the cool metal underneath his palms and trying to focus on it. His now sweaty palms just shook with the tension.

He felt tears collect in his eyes. He still needed to get unpacked, he needed to sleep, he needed to _eat_. But no, there he stood, shaking about 'what if' scenarios on his fire escape.

 _They could happen, though,_ a part of him insisted.

Creaking sounded from the escape above him. _Was someone on the fire escape, too?_ Virgil tried to quiet himself, so as not to disturb them. He felt his chest get tight, winding up like a knot.

 _Why don't you just go?_ Virgil asked himself.

He tried moving but his body refused to move, opting to continue feeling as if he was permanently stuck in this spot for eternity.

A voice hummed above him. _Oh shit, the person above me is still up there._

The creaking sounded, moving away towards the stairs. A pair of feet went down the stairs, a body on top of it. The stranger turned to face him as soon as they got down to his level. And _Oh-_

It was the person who held the elevator for him while he was bringing in his boxes.

He barely noticed them, in truth. Virgil just thanked them profusely every time he moved from his car to the elevator and then to his elevator to his apartment. They seemed nice enough. They were cute, in a weird way. They had a mustache on their upper lip, wide, green eyes, and a streak of gray in their hair. 

Virgil stared at them, and the stranger stared right back. Virgil probably makes a terrible second impression. 

"You okay there?" The stranger asked, concern reflecting in their face.

Virgil just shook his head and looked down to the floor, seeing the alleyway beneath him, not wanting his mouth to open and just sob about how possibly awful his life is at the moment.

"Alright then," The creaking sounds became louder and louder until he sees a pair of bare feet in front of his vision. _He could fall from this fucking fire escape._

He looked up and saw the stranger next to him. They were looking out to the skyline, leaning on the ledge. Virgil just noticed their top. It was a crop top, sparkling with sequin that glittered in the setting sun.

"You know," The stranger said softly, "I lived in Queens for a while before I moved to Manhattan,"

Virgil made a small, tense hum. He wasn't sure why the stranger was going to tell him their whole life story, but he might as well be polite about it.

"Queens was always calmer than the Lower East Side, and _way_ less expensive, and had way less pollution," They inhaled and stuck out their tongue in disgust, Virgil unintentionally following their example, "-but my parents still moved there when I was younger, 5 or 6, saying something about having a baby in a new environment. I then found out what they meant when my brother, Roman, came into the world a few months later," Virgil chortled, trying to keep his reactions to himself, slowly beginning to find himself relaxing.

The stranger looked at him with a twinkle in their eyes, "Now, Roman was a massive handful, he was always running around causing trouble with his older sibling, Remus. Hi, I'm Remus, by the way," They did a little wave before continuing, "We played a fantasy game. I played the villain because I got the evil laugh down and wanted to torture him -lovingly- for a bit, and Roman was the prince because he had the costume and the voice for it,"

Virgil made a noise, inviting them to continue.

"After growing up with Roman for so long, we still both went our separate ways, you could say, and it was... kind of weird, at first. Roman went on Broadway last year-" Virgil half-choked, "-and I was in my 4th year of studying to become a _middle-school biology teacher_ , of all things. I start the job for the first time this September. But it's nice, I kinda like it. The lesson plans, anyways. And I’m looking forward to the time where I can make the kids uncomfortable with the dissecting and reproductive systems. I made it the first few lessons in November,” Remus winked. 

"I'm not exactly sure why I'm telling you this, to be completely honest," They chuckled nervously, "I just thought I should distract you from- whatever's going inside of your head, right now,"

Virgil smiled shakily, and realized, they were right. 

"U-um, yeah," Virgil held out his hand, "Hi, I'm Virgil. Virgil Byrne. I use he/him pronouns?" Virgil wasn't sure why he added that part, this conversation was already awkward enough. Just because Remus was wearing a sparkly crop top and had a weird sense of style did not mean they were gay, maybe they're just secure in their sexua-

Remus shook it, "Glad to see your gaydar's working-" _What._ "-Remus -although I guess you already knew that- Basilio, they/them pronouns at the moment,"

Smirking at him, Remus gave him _another_ wink and Virgil felt his face _burn._

And now he's panicking for a _completely_ different reason.

And in the midst of all that panic, Remus got a pen from their pant pockets and wrote something on his palm. Virgil looked at it and looked back at them, Remus already going back up to their floor. 

"Hey," Remus said to him, on the third step of the fire escape stairway, "Don't be a stranger, it's always nice to talk to cute boys while they're busy panicking about something. And gimme a holler or a call if you need help unloading, I'll always be a few steps up," and with that, they rose up back to their fire escape. Virgil heard creaking above him, and the opening and closing of a window.

Virgil stared down at the pen on his palm. It was in green, sparkly pen (figures) and it wrote their number.

Virgil held his head in his hands, the evening already creeping up over the horizon. He'd just moved to the Upper East Side _yesterday_ and he already got someone's number.

He glanced back down at his palm again and smiled. He doesn't plan on being a stranger for too long.


End file.
